Here's How Well The Best New Artist Grammy Picks Have Aged In The Past 24 Years
Is there an award more baffling than the Grammy's Best New Artist? Even according to the Academy itself, it has the most "complicated set of rules" of any award given.
According to the Grammys, a "new artist" is defined as someone who has had "a breakthrough into the public consciousness and impacted the musical landscape during the year's eligibility period." So that means that you could have been releasing music for literal years; as long as you haven't been nominated for a performance Grammy before, you're good to go.
There are also some more stipulations in place now — like you can't have released more than three albums, but must have at least five songs or an album out. The changing rules over the years have meant that artists like Lady Gaga, who were ineligible during their time, could have been nominated in another year.
So, here's a look back at the Best New Artists of the century — and what they've done since:
1.2000: Christina Aguilera
Where are they now? Obviously, Christina has had a widely successful career and was even a judge on The Voice along with another winner on this list. Her last album, the Spanish-language Aguilera, was released in 2022.
Who else was nominated? Macy Gray, Kid Rock, Britney Spears, and Susan Tedeschi.
How has it aged? Though Xtina is an iconic artist in her own right, Britney far outsold her.
2.2001: Shelby Lynne
Where are they now? When Shelby won BNA, she actually had released six albums. Post-Grammy, she had a handful of acting roles, appearing in the movie Walk the Line. According to her Instagram, she's still releasing music, performing live, and sharing writing via Substack.
Who else was nominated? Brad Paisley, Papa Roach, Jill Scott, and Sisqó.
How has it aged? Both Jill and Brad went on to win another three Grammy awards during their respective careers, with Jill topping the Instagram follower counts. However, without Sisqó, there wouldn't have been a cover of "Thong Song" on Glee, so there's that.
3.2002: Alicia Keys
Where are they now? Of course, Alicia has had a far-ranging and successful career in the years that have followed — winning a whopping 15 Grammys in total. Her ninth album, a Christmas album called Santa Baby, was released in 2022. She also recently penned an Off-Broadway musical and wrote a track for The Color Purple.
Who else was nominated? India Arie, Nelly Furtado, David Gray, and Linkin Park.
How has it aged? When compared to her peers, Alicia has undoubtedly had the biggest and most consistent career in the past 22 years.
4.2003: Norah Jones
Where are they now? Norah actually won five awards that night, saying, "I can't top it. I don't expect to top it." She's won nine Grammys in total, and her ninth album will actually be out in March of this year.
Who else was nominated? Ashanti, Michelle Branch, Avril Lavigne, and John Mayer.
How has it aged? Norah remains the most Grammy-award nominated artist of her batch, though John has the same number of nominations as her. That being said, Avril has the most monthly Spotify listeners right now.
5.2004: Evanescence
Where are they now? Evanescence has only released three original albums since their win, and front woman Amy Lee took some time away from the public eye. The lineup of the band has changed over the years, and in 2022, Amy said it was a "little soon" for them to make a new album.
Who else was nominated? 50 Cent, Fountains of Wayne, Heather Headley, and Sean Paul.
How has it aged? Amy recently said that the band thought that 50 Cent was going to win that night.
6.2005: Maroon 5
Where are they now? Maroon 5 are still wildly commercially successful, making them one of the most popular bands of the century. Their last album, Jordi (2021), received not-great reviews.
Who else was nominated? Los Lonely Boys, Joss Stone, Kanye West, and Gretchen Wilson.
How has it aged? Obviously, Kanye has revealed himself to have many, many, many horrifying views. If we're keeping it to strictly music, then he was undeniably the more influential artist in the '00s and '10s — and is one of the most decorated Grammy winners of all time.
7.2006: John Legend
Where are they now? Mr. EGOT himself! John has released two albums in the '20s alone. It's hard to list all of his accolades, so let's go with People's Sexiest Man Alive in 2019, who can forget.
Who else was nominated? Ciara, Fall Out Boy, Keane, and Sugarland.
How has it aged? John is still the biggest name out of the bunch.
8.2007: Carrie Underwood
Where are they now? The American Idol alum has won a total of eight Grammys, and is widely considered to be one of the most successful country artists of all time.
Who else was nominated? James Blunt, Chris Brown, Imogen Heap, and Corinne Bailey Rae.
How has it aged? Chris Brown has more monthly Spotify listeners, but he's arguably more notorious for violence.
9.2008: Amy Winehouse
Where are they now? Amy won big with the 2006 release of her album Back to Black. She died in 2011.
Who else was nominated? Feist, Ledisi, Paramore, and Taylor Swift.
How has it aged? Sadly, we will never know what could have been from Amy's career.
10.2009: Adele
Where are they now? Fitting that Adele should take home the award after Winehouse, given that she credits her career to the late singer. Adele has broken more records in the music industry than can be recounted here — including having the bestselling album worldwide of 2022 with her last record, 30.
Who else was nominated? Duffy, Jonas Brothers, Lady A, and Jazmine Sullivan.
How has it aged? While this is another category marked with some tragedy (in the case of Duffy), there's no doubt that Adele is one of the biggest performers on this entire list, let alone her group.
11.2010: Zac Brown Band
Where are they now? While their 2021 album The Comeback may not have had the chart success of the band's previous records, they're still big names in country — with the Kelce brothers recently naming the group one of their favorites.
Who else was nominated? Keri Hilson, MGMT, Silversun Pickups, and The Ting Tings.
How has it aged? While MGMT have higher Spotify listens currently, Zac Brown's consistency puts them out on top.
12.2011: Esperanza Spalding
Where are they now? The jazz artist has won five Grammys, winning as recently as 2022. She further taught at Harvard and continues to make waves in the jazz scene.
Who else was nominated? Justin Bieber, Drake, Florence and the Machine, and Mumford & Sons.
How has it aged? In a mainstream sense, Esperanza is likely the least recognizable of the nominees from her year. Drake received some backlash last year for dissing her on the song "Away From Home."
13.2012: Bon Iver
Where are they now? The alternative group is still very much active, with front man Justin Vernon frequently collaborating with Taylor Swift in recent years. They were nominated for both Album of the Year and Record of the Year in 2020.
Who else was nominated? The Band Perry, J. Cole, Nicki Minaj, and Skrillex.
How has it aged? Ah, "The white man Bon Iver" — who released their first album in 2008. After the win, some even confused the group for "Bonnie Bear." Nicki might be one of the most controversial A-listers going right now, but she's definitely the more successful of the two.
14.2013: Fun
Where are they now? In 2015, the group announced their hiatus. Maybe they'll come back any day now!
Who else was nominated? Alabama Shakes, Hunter Hayes, The Lumineers, and Frank Ocean.
How has it aged? Frank is the clearer winner here — though in terms of sheer volume of pop songs, Fun's drummer Jack Antonoff is sweeping it. Frontman Nate Ruess appears to have pretty much stopped making music.
15.2014: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Where are they now? The duo has been on hiatus since 2017, though Macklemore is still rapping as a solo artist.
Who else was nominated? James Blake, Kendrick Lamar, Kacey Musgraves, and Ed Sheeran.
How has it aged? Even at the time, Macklemore said that Kendrick should have won. He even texted Kendrick, who was nominated for seven awards that night and won none, "You got robbed. I wanted you to win. You should have. It’s weird and it sucks that I robbed you.”
16.2015: Sam Smith
Where are they now? Just last year, Sam made history as the first openly nonbinary person to win a Grammy for "Unholy." Another artist inspired by other winners on this list, Sam is still topping charts and causing a commotion on the red carpet.
Who else was nominated? Iggy Azalea, Bastille, Brandy Clark, and Haim.
How has it aged? Quite well, really!
17.2016: Meghan Trainor
Where are they now? Making TikToks with Chris Olsen, podcasts with her brother, and getting Kris Jenner in the music video for "Mother."
Who else was nominated? Courtney Barnett, James Bay, Sam Hunt, and Tori Kelly.
How has it aged? Meghan was an odd choice for Best New Artist even at the time, given that "All About That Bass" had been nominated the year prior.
18.2017: Chance the Rapper
Where are they now? About to join the Best New Artist to The Voice judge pipeline once again. Interestingly, Chance has only ever released one album — The Big Day — which performed so poorly, his manager sued him.
Who else was nominated? Kelsea Ballerini, The Chainsmokers, Maren Morris, and Anderson .Paak.
How has it aged? Well, though who would have imagined that Anderson .Paak would sweep the Grammys with Bruno Mars a few years later.
19.2018: Alessia Cara
Where are they now? Currently working on her fourth studio album. Her 2021 album In the Meantime was received well by critics.
Who else was nominated? Khalid, Lil Uzi Vert, Julia Michaels, and SZA.
How has it aged? With the release of SOS, SZA has cemented herself as one of the best in the game.
20.2019: Dua Lipa
Where are they now? Dabbling in acting with the upcoming release of Argylle and working on her upcoming third album.
Who else was nominated? Chloe x Halle, Luke Combs, Greta Van Fleet, H.E.R., Margo Price, Bebe Rexha, and Jorja Smith.
How has it aged? Dua is definitely one of the main pop girls going right now.
21.2020: Billie Eilish
Where are they now? Being nominated for an (another!) Oscar and working on her third album.
Who else was nominated? Black Pumas, Maggie Rogers, Lil Nas X, Lizzo, Rosalía, Tank and the Bangas, and Yola.
How has it aged? A stacked category, but Billie definitely has commercial success, critical success, and influence on her side.
22.2021: Megan Thee Stallion
Where are they now? About to release a new album and tour, while dropping a track that sent Nicki Minaj into a spiral.
Who else was nominated? Ingrid Andress, Phoebe Bridgers, Chika, Noah Cyrus, D Smoke, Doja Cat, and Kaytranada.
How has it aged? While one could debate between Doja and Megan, the latter is still a wonderful pick.
23.2022: Olivia Rodrigo
Where are they now? Being nominated for even more Grammy awards for her sophomore album Guts.
Who else was nominated? Arooj Aftab, Jimmie Allen, Baby Keem, Finneas, Glass Animals, Japanese Breakfast, The Kid Laroi, Arlo Parks, and Saweetie.
How has it aged? With the release of Guts, Olivia confirmed that she's sure not going anywhere any time soon.
24.2023: Samara Joy
Where are they now? The jazz artist is also up for more Grammys at this year's awards.
Who else was nominated? Anitta, Omar Apollo, Domi and JD Beck, Latto, Måneskin, Muni Long, Tobe Nwigwe, Molly Tuttle, and Wet Leg.
How has it aged? Likely too soon to tell!
So, who will win this year? It's between Gracie Abrams, Fred Again, Ice Spice, Jelly Roll, Coco Jones, Noah Kahan, Victoria Monét, and The War and Treaty — so we'll just have to see!
